Odyssey Unscripted Episode 8: Odyssey Sets Sail! - Introducing our Dance Captain (Feat Darby Jones)

Meet Darby Jones—an influential force in Utah’s dance community and a longtime member of Odyssey Dance Theatre. In this episode, we sit down with Darby to explore her journey from first discovering Odyssey to spending nearly a decade growing alongside the company. She shares what it’s been like to evolve as both an artist and educator while witnessing the many phases of Odyssey over the years.

Darby also opens up about how her experiences on the company have shaped her approach to teaching and mentoring the next generation of dancers. Plus, we dive into her special, long-standing relationship with Derryl Yeager—filled with heartfelt memories, behind-the-scenes stories, and a glimpse into the deep sense of family that defines Odyssey.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:17

And here we are at Odyssey is Unscripted. We are here in Germany, and we're going to be interviewing with Darby Jones, who has been with the company forever. Forever. Forever. She and I go way back. In fact, my wife, Cheryl, she actually taught her ballet when she was like this knee height of a grasshopper. She was this big. Her first ballet classes, you know, and she was just she's been with us all these years. And uh, you know, it's been a pleasure to have her on the company, and she's been such a a great person to be with, too. And that's the thing that I really, really enjoy about her. So thank you. Yes, yes. So tell us how how did you find out about Odyssey?

SPEAKER_02 0:59

Uh my mom took me to an Odyssey show when I was about six years old. We went to see Let It Be. Oh, okay. So she had been coming to the shows for a long time. See a thriller since its beginnings, and she wanted to take me to a show. So she took me to Let It Be, and I was obsessed ever since.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Oh, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

And then did you well, I think I remember the first thing you performed with us. She played Zuzu in uh It's a Wonderful Life, which was a little kid. And were you the first one? You were the first one.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

I was the second Zuzu. Second zoo. I was in the cast originally, but I got to do Zuzu the second year.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Yeah, she played Zuzu. So you didn't do any of the dancing, did you at all?

SPEAKER_02 1:39

I did the dancing. Oh. I did dancing at Zuzu.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Oh, that's cool. She was so good at six years old. She was so good at six years old that she had to, you know, she had to be the dancing too. Sometimes the Zuzus don't dance.

SPEAKER_02 1:52

That is true.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

But you did. I did. I did the whole thing. You set the precedent. That's right. And it was awesome. True. And she she grew up and uh, you know, continued to be an amazing dancer. And uh we actually you went off though, you went off to that high school.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

Yeah, in California, Id Wild Arts Academy.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

And when did you go there?

SPEAKER_02 2:14

My senior year. So I did Odyssey 2 when I was 16.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

And then I left for a year and did Idwild Arts Academy in California and then came back.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

And you came back, yes. So how was that experience in California?

SPEAKER_02 2:28

It was really good. I learned a lot. I learned a lot about myself and about becoming an adult, even though I was still 17, like living on my own and having to, you know, get myself ready and hold myself accountable without my parents was really, I think, important for me because when I joined the company, I was really young compared to everyone else. Right. And so I had already had experience on my own and was able to keep up with, you know, the Veronicas and the Eldens. Yes. Or try to.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Well, you know, when I saw you when you were you were in Odyssey 2, you were kind of the person I said, oh, this is what Odyssey 2 is all about. We should we should have this junior company that's really building up, you know, the next generation of dancers. And uh and then you left and I was like, what? What the heck? What the heck? And but then you came back.

SPEAKER_02 3:19

My mom wanted to make sure I graduated high school first.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Graduated high school because you probably wouldn't have graduated if you'd stayed in Utah, right? No. Okay. So you came back and did I put you in the company immediately at that point in time? You did, yeah. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 3:33

I was supposed to go to I was 18. I was supposed to go to college at University of Kentucky and study biology, and it just didn't feel right. And so I called you on the phone and I said, Hello, this isn't feeling right anymore. Can I come to callbacks?

SPEAKER_01 3:49

Because you were gonna be on the dance team there. Oh, yeah, I was gonna be on the dance team. The team or the dance team? The dance team. The dance team of the University of Kentucky, and you still have paraphernalia. I do. I bleed blue. And what did I what did I say to you?

SPEAKER_02 4:02

You said, I think you're making the best choice by staying here, and you have a spot on the company.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

Oh did that excite you?

SPEAKER_02 4:11

It did. Oh, that's yeah, and it just immediately felt right. I felt much better.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

Uh-huh. And you've been with the company how many years now?

SPEAKER_02 4:19

I joined the company in 2014.

unknown 4:22

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

Crazy. Yeah. So 12 years now.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Yeah. A long time.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

It's making me feel old.

SPEAKER_02 4:31

Me too.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_02 4:33

I turned 30 a week from today.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

30?

SPEAKER_02 4:35

30?

SPEAKER_01 4:36

You're gonna be here on tour?

SPEAKER_02 4:38

We're flying home on my birthday.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Oh, you're driving we're we're flying home on your birthday.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Well, we can sing happy birthday on your plane.

SPEAKER_02 4:45

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

No, no, no, that's awesome. But uh, you know, I mean, it's it's just been such a an an amazing ride. And now she's kind of like the dance captain of the company. And so she not only does she perform the principal roles, but she's also uh, you know, the dance captain of the company. So it's kind of difficult to juggle that, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 5:09

Yeah, it's really hard. I think it's been easier now that I'm a little bit older, uh-huh. But when I was younger, it was really hard because my peers were also my age. Uh-huh. And it was hard to find the balance of yes, you are my friend, but I'm also here to help you.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

And have the respect that I felt like I needed and also the kindness that I wanted. Yes. Going through that on both sides.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

It's very hard to like be friends.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

And then be and then give a note. And then give a note. Yes. And then still be friends after. And it's still it's still a struggle. Yeah. Isn't it? It is. Well, now she's performing principal roles. She's doing uh Juliet and Romeo and Juliet, which you've done for quite a few years now, haven't you?

SPEAKER_02 5:53

This is my sixth one. Sixth one? I think so. Sixth Romeo and Juliet, but fourth Juliet.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

So who are you? Who are your Romeos?

SPEAKER_02 6:01

Casey, then Tommy, and then Casey again, and now Peter.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 6:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

She's she's gone through a few uh Romeos.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

Menthers over the years.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

But she she helps drag them through the process. Yeah. All right. And then you're also doing uh Roxy in our Chicago night show, which is a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02 6:23

It is a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

You know, it's a great, great show. I uh we really enjoyed uh putting that together. It was fun to watch it the other night when you guys performed it the first time and to watch everybody's eyes when they got to go through all the bowels and everything, and everybody's still clapping and everything. It was really fun. They don't believe me until it happens.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

It's true.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

And even then we could have gotten more, but but Luke's so slow though. The curtain was like and we were like so slow, we were like for like 20 minutes. And it wouldn't it wouldn't close all the way, it stuck about there. Yeah, imagine being in the middle, just like it goes back out slowly. You know, when you have a fast curtain, we could have gotten a couple more bows like it was but it but we will if we get a faster curtain.

SPEAKER_02 7:15

Yeah, it was fun to watch everyone because I just kind of held back when everyone rushed for the first time because I've done it a few times, you know, and watching the joy on their faces as they got to experience that for the first time was really special.

SPEAKER_01 7:27

The audience really loves that. I think Jeffrey's the one that started that.

SPEAKER_02 7:30

Yeah, or my first year we rushed and it was crazy.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

Yeah, I mean, it was unplanned. Yeah, the yeah, it was unplanned, but it worked so well that we thought, oh, let's add that to the bowels because you know the audience loves it. They're they're already standing up, they're clapping, and then they see everybody rush towards them and give them, you know, basically high fives from the from the stage. And it's just a really, really neat experience. And I think it's a great affirmation of the the amazing talent you guys have and the amazing uh productions that we put together. That um it's it's good, you know, it's good stuff, and the audiences really, really reflect that. And I think it's it's always like an icing on the cake at the end of the season to be able to experience that.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

I agree, like they just truly appreciate art, yeah, which is awesome to experience, especially when I feel like people aren't appreciating it as much here in the States.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

Right, right. So, you know, usually this the uh standing ovations in in Utah are like they're getting up their coat, they're standing up and they're getting their coat and they go, Oh, oh, okay, oh yes, you know, uh, and they say, Okay, good, good, good, you know, and uh, but here it's just like they stomp, clap, clap, clap, clap, pop, they go in time with it. We even changed the the encore music because uh one of the encoreies I used for Romeo and Juliet stopped the clapping because it went we did the battle sequence.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Yeah, and it went as well.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

The clapping would stop. And I said, Okay, this this sucks. Let's pull that out. And we just stayed with the the one song where they can clap throughout the whole thing. I just love that, you know. It's it's fun to see that happen. Yes. Well, you deserve it.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

Thanks.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

You deserve that kind of because you're you're an amazing dancer and an amazing, uh, amazing person who um who does a great, great job in the company and someone I'm very, very appreciative of. She's like Miss Together. No. If you if you look at her phone and her her schedule on her phone is all color-coded and everything, it's going in and out, and it's just an amazing, amazing sequence sequence of take babysitters and you know, privates and all kinds of things going on.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

It's the only way I can function in my color code a Google Calendar.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

So, wait a minute. So, so you're married now.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

I am married for how long? It'll be nine years in July.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Nine years. Oh my gosh, that's amazing. A long time, yes, and you're still married, still married. So you you you you got it, you got a ways to go to get to Cheryl and I've 51 years. But I mean we're working on it. You're working on it. So who's who's watching? No, you have a little I do. I have a four-year-old son, his name's Hudson. He's Hudson, and he he had long, long hair for the longest time. He did longer than yours is right now.

SPEAKER_02 10:16

It is, yep. It's I think it's longer than mine again now.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

And then and then all of a sudden he came in one day and he had his hair cut and he would look like a little boy. It was so cute. I know it just it was just amazing. And then he had his little hat, you know, the little hat was like this, and he was like looking all fly, you know, and everything. It was it was great. He's a great kid. He is what do you love about most about him?

SPEAKER_02 10:41

Um, I love a lot of things about him. I love his imagination. It's fun to see that he uh I feel like a lot of kids these days don't lean into their imagination as much. And so I love that he leans into his own imagination and likes to play games and he likes dance a lot too, which is fun to relate to him in that. Yeah, he loves to dance and he loves to talk about our dances, like he loves the bunny dance in the Christmas show. Like he's always like, I want to see the Easter bunny dance, and he doesn't know it's from Christmas or what's that great, it's really cute, and he likes to go to rehearsal with me.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

Oh, wow, which is fun. Well, that's awesome because he's kind of in that world now. Yeah, he's forced it. And I wouldn't I wouldn't want to force it on anybody, honestly. Yeah, you know, my my three daughters danced in the company. Um, my my boys, they all dabbled for a little bit and then said, see ya, which I'm totally fine with. Yeah, because uh, you know, I wouldn't want to wish this on anybody. It has to be something your passion, you know. Yeah, and so if he wants to dance, he's in the right family.

SPEAKER_02 11:44

He is, yeah, he is. He's so cute.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

That's awesome. That's how he's four years old now. Four years old. Cool. Where did you meet your husband?

SPEAKER_02 11:51

We met online. Ah, what? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

No way. We did. Okay, explain that. Tell me the story. Oh no. Tell me the story of how how you met online. This is kind of embarrassing. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

It is embarrassing. It was like when dating apps were new, so it was kind of weird.

SPEAKER_01 12:12

Okay, so which dating app was it?

SPEAKER_02 12:15

Well, the only one that existed was Tinder. So wait. Okay, I'm getting red.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

At least it wasn't grinder. Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:27

We did meet on Tinder. Um yeah, we did. We we lied to our parents at first, though. So Oh really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

So you said you met at sacrament meeting or something?

SPEAKER_02 12:38

Well, yeah, he told his mom that we met through um friends of like a mission companion or something like that. So it was all fake news.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

So you you put on, you put, you put together a little little profile. Did you put your picture, your real picture up there?

SPEAKER_02 12:52

My real picture.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 12:53

He did swipe right.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Uh-huh. And what what did you list as your your qualities?

SPEAKER_02 13:01

Um I don't remember. I was 18. I met him when I was like right when he got home from his mission, actually.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

Oh, really? Yeah. And where did he go on his mission?

SPEAKER_02 13:11

Chile.

SPEAKER_01 13:12

Chile, oh. Does he still speak Spanish?

SPEAKER_02 13:14

He does.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

So you put a profile, yeah. And then you're getting a whole bunch of people.

SPEAKER_02 13:20

Yeah. Like location based.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

Okay. And so they they said, hey, what's up? And yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:26

And then we met, went on some dates. We dated for two and a half years.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

But did you date other people off of that?

SPEAKER_02 13:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

Okay. How many, how many guys did you go through before you went through?

SPEAKER_02 13:35

Um, he was probably like my fourth or fifth date, and I almost didn't go because I had had a couple bad dates. And so I I didn't really want to go, but I just decided to go anyway.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

What was a bad date? What was it like?

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Just like I don't know. The vibe wasn't really yeah, just like the vibe wasn't right.

SPEAKER_01 13:52

And did you were you on like a long date, so you had to kind of suffer through it? Because you usually kind of know within the first 10 minutes, right?

SPEAKER_02 13:58

Yeah.

unknown 13:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:00

I just be like, hey, thanks. That was really fun.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Yeah, because now they have those things where you go like it's just lunch or something like that. Yeah. And go and just have like a real short little thing, see if there's any vibes there, and then move on from there.

SPEAKER_02 14:12

But uh that's kind of what I was doing.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

They have speed dating too now. We you know, you walk around the table and that just seems awfully odd to me.

SPEAKER_02 14:20

Yeah, that's not for me.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

I I mean I I'm very I'm very fortunate, you know, that I I knew I was gonna marry my wife on our first date, and here we are 51 years later.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

So I you know, I knew I was gonna marry Chad, but it took him a little longer. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

So how long did it take?

SPEAKER_02 14:36

We did it for two and a half years.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

Ah, you two and a half years? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

Very not Utah. Wow. Of us.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Yeah. So what was your first impression of him when you went out? So why why did you not almost almost not go?

SPEAKER_02 14:49

I just I was kind of just sick of going on bad dates, and so I didn't want to go on another bad date. Right. And so, but I just decided to go anyway. And I was nervous, I was really nervous. We walked around City Creek and like the Temple Square lights. We met around Christmas time. He wanted to come to the Christmas show, is what he wanted to do. And I told him no, I didn't want it. I didn't want him to see me dance before he met me. I wanted him to like meet me and like want to like me for me, and I don't know. And he's not in like the art space.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

You weren't playing Zuzu at that point. No.

SPEAKER_02 15:23

It's no longer Zuzu. We were doing Redux, not cracker.

SPEAKER_01 15:27

Oh, okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 15:28

So I just I wanted him to meet me for me and not come to a show and then meet me after the show for five.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

That's right. You know, oh that's an interesting, that's an interesting ploy. Yeah. I think that makes a lot of sense. Yeah. Because, you know, the guys get out there in the audience and they see the girl of their dreams up there on stage and they think, ooh, she's for me. And, you know, may not be so.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

And it's also, I feel like, just an intimidating world to come into when you don't know a lot of about the arts in general. Like that was something that in our relationship we had to learn to talk about and figure out because it's it's a really different job, and it's my hip hurts and my back hurts. So at first he was like, Why are you doing this if it's painful? You know, I like I'm like, that's just what you do, and sometimes you get gingered. And how did you break it to him that you were a dancer? I told him before we started dating, which was good, but now he's like the most supportive guy. Like he came to every thriller performance, helped sell merch, all of the things.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Yes, he he did come and help serve, so he sold merch after lots of years. So that was awesome because Cheryl was like overwhelmed with all this stuff.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

He became the Odyssey helper, which is nice. He had a full 180 and really now appreciates the arts and understands why I do what I do and the love that I have for it, which is really cool.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

Well, because you know, when you marry a dancer, you're kind of marrying the whole art form. Right. Right? Yes. And so, you know, I've I've experienced a lot of new marriages in the company and stuff like that. And when the guys have no concept of what it's like to be a dancer at all, and it goes south pretty quick because they just don't understand it. They don't understand the passion that that person has and appreciates it and supports it, you know. And I think that's an amazing thing that you've got in your husband, is that he does love it and he does support it.

SPEAKER_02 17:26

Right. I totally agree. And I think that's why I'm glad we dated as long as we did, even though I didn't want to at the time. Like looking back, it made our marriage so much easier at the beginning because he already understood what I do, why I do it, and was accustomed to the lifestyle and the kinds of people were very loud people, you know, for someone that just is like a farmer boy from Ogden, Utah. That's a lot of personality.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

Um, you know, I think that's I think you're very, very fortunate to have that, have that support and have someone who's willing to watch your your son, you know, when you're off on tour in Germany and stuff like that. I think that's that's really remarkable to allow you the opportunity to continue to perform.

SPEAKER_00 18:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

Because, you know, you're not when you when you have your first baby, you're not sure if you're ever going to come back.

SPEAKER_02 18:16

Yeah, no, that's true.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

You know, and so it it's always, but I think I think we try to create that atmosphere within the company that says, okay, you don't have to come to rehearsal every other every day. Yeah. You can come three times a week or twice, whatever your schedule permits. You know these roles already, you're good to go, you know. And I'm happy to provide that opportunity in that context. And I think that's something that's really, really special about Odyssey. Because I know one knows in Bali West, and and uh, you know, we had our first child coming and they were like see ya, you know.

SPEAKER_02 18:51

No, I feel I do feel very blessed and very fortunate that you allow me to do that. It it makes it possible for me to do what I love still, which is awesome because I wasn't ready to give it up. Yeah, you know, and I mean I came back at four weeks postpartum.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

I mean, that's amazing. Well, you look fabulous. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 19:12

Well, I thank you. I did not at four weeks postpartum, let me tell you.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

That first ballet class was you were you were out there.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

I was, yes, well, I tried to dance the whole time too, you know. You made me sit down.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

You were keep doing grand plies trying to help help them at like 38 weeks pregnant, help doing transitional fallout. It was like oh my gosh, yes. I mean, Cheryl and I uh we danced together in Ballet West when she was five months pregnant, and so she would well, they were taking her tutu and like adding panels to it as she kept growing. Well, we had this thing in Walsala Flowers where I lifted her over my head and I flipped her and went down into a fish. Yeah, right. I mean, that's it's kind of dangerous. That's a little dangerous, yeah. But she trusted me, and at five five months pregnant, she was heavier. Wow, it was hard to catch, but I did it, and uh you know, it was amazing. It wasn't too long after that. She said, Ah, I'm tired of throwing up in the morning at class, you know.

SPEAKER_02 20:16

Casey and I did the frank lift when I was about five months pregnant.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

Really?

SPEAKER_02 20:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:21

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 20:22

I got in trouble for that. Chad was like, Don't do that again.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

Don't do that anymore. So he's not totally supportive.

SPEAKER_02 20:30

Right. Not about the five-month pregnancy frank lift. No, no, no. We weren't supportive about that.

SPEAKER_01 20:36

That's amazing. What has parenting helped you with as far as your performing career?

SPEAKER_02 20:44

That's interesting. I think just appreciating every moment even more. Like when I broke my arm, I feel like I gained a whole new appreciation for dance because I thought my career was over. And then when I became a mom, I also gained a whole new perspective on dance and an appreciation for my body that I didn't have before.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

Right.

SPEAKER_02 21:04

Like being able to see my body grow a human being and then also figure out how to dance inside my new body was really fascinating and a whole experience. And then I just feel like now I appreciate every moment that I'm able to be in the space. Like every moment I get to come take class, I'm so excited to be able to come take the ballet class because I don't I don't get to do that very often anymore because of my schedule and being a mom. And I just I love every moment that I'm able to be a part of the company and be in the space and dance because I know that it's my gift and I want to be able to share it as long as I can.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Yeah. Well, I mean, I'm I'm happy to have you as long as you can do it. As long as your husband still supports it. He does I know my mom, I love her. Mom, she supports it too. She's she's a great grandma and she helps take care of him.

SPEAKER_02 21:54

She does, she does a great job.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

You know, I mean, it's it's it's amazing to see that. And and I I think. I think in many ways you really grew as an artist too.

SPEAKER_00 22:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:03

Because you step back away from it and you come back to it with a whole new perspective.

SPEAKER_02 22:10

Yes, I totally agree. Like watching 40 thriller performances taught me so much because I took notes when I was pregnant and then came back and danced in the spring. And so watching all of that and getting to see what everything looks like on stage really helped me understand as a performer what I need to do to be most effective for the audience.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:35

Uh let's let's talk about that a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

There is this piece that we that I Corey left several years, a couple of years before that.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

And uh this piece was it called Celimbula. And um it is amazing, amazing piece. And there's this moment where she's they're back to back, and he grabs, she puts her foot up in the air, and he grabs her foot and he flips her over his head. Ooh, sorry, just like that.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

And that's what my arm sounded like when it snapped in my ear.

SPEAKER_01 23:11

She flips, she flips her over his head and then throws her up into the air into a uh a single arm press. A single arm press. It goes like that. Yeah, and it's it's it's a remarkable. I I I'll let you guys I'll send you a copy of the piece with her doing it. And it's really, really quite amazing.

SPEAKER_02 23:29

There's four or eight counts of dancing in the whole thing. The rest are just lifts.

SPEAKER_01 23:34

Lifts.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

It's like a strength test to the max.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

It's kind of it's kind of soleish, too. Yeah, it is circusoleyish in in its in its concept and just you know, balances and and it's really an amazing piece. It really is. If I should say so myself. As the Koyar. But but anyway, so they they were in the rehearsal. We were like, were we two weeks away from going to Europe? The week we were leaving.

SPEAKER_02 24:00

Yeah, so we had already performed the piece here in the States, and that we were rehearsing it to take on tour that year. They were we were going to Israel and Germany, and my arm snapped.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

So she he pulled her, he pulled her over, and her arm snapped. Where did it? It just it was a radial snap too.

SPEAKER_02 24:21

It was, yeah, it was a spiral fracture of my humerus.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

Anyway, it snapped.

SPEAKER_02 24:27

Yeah, I just remember hearing Yeah, I thought he thought it was my bra strap, so he was laughing. Oh, and then he turned around, like he turned around, and then all of a sudden, like the fear of God came in his eyes. And my arm went like, oh, sorry, Mike. It went like and then I thought my elbow dislocated. Like I remember saying to you, I dislocated my elbow, let's go to the instacare.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

Yeah, yeah. And we sent you immediately to the instacare. They went there and they said, It's broken.

SPEAKER_02 24:54

Yeah, they're like, please go to the hospital.

SPEAKER_01 24:56

And so they they had to do an operation to put it back together, right?

SPEAKER_02 25:00

Yeah. So they cut my arm open. I have a plate in my arm and the 10 screws. I have two floating screws that hold my that held the bone together while it was healing. And then I have eight other screws that hold the plate onto my arm. And the plate will never come out.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

Wow. Do you set off alarms when you go through security?

SPEAKER_02 25:19

No, I kind of want to just because it's like dramatic. You want to go, I'm like, oh, that's oh, oh, oh, they don't have all these plates right in here. None of them hard. I don't know. I mean, alarms.

SPEAKER_01 25:31

That's amazing, though, that they actually put it together and that you can continue to dance now afterwards.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

I was really scared that it's a good thing.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

To me, that was remarkable. But I mean, we had to I had just pulled a piece from the yeah, we just pulled that piece and then you had to resprace it up. It was heartbreaking.

SPEAKER_02 25:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

Is that that's not the year we went to Istanbul, is it? No.

SPEAKER_02 25:53

No, that was Israel.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

We went to Tel Aviv.

SPEAKER_02 25:55

Tel Aviv.

SPEAKER_01 25:56

Yeah, I missed that. That was such an amazing experience when we performed at the Israeli Opera House in Tel Aviv, this huge and we did uh MJ. We did MJ there, which Jackson show. And it they loved it. We had all kinds of people, you know, local dance companies come in and watch, and that's so cool. They were just like, you know, uh groupies, you know. We go out afterwards and they just scream and yell for you and everything. It was really, it was really neat. That was a really neat experience. But you weren't there, I was not there. I'm so sorry. I should I shouldn't have talked about it that much. It's okay. She had all those plates put in. It's an amazing lift, and they did it very, very well, but that's just the one place where it went wrong.

SPEAKER_00 26:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

You know, how long did it take you to feel like you could actually dance after that?

SPEAKER_02 26:45

Um, well, I started physical therapy at two weeks after the surgery because I was in a splint. And so they took my staples out of my arm, and your elbow can lock up. So they wanted me to start while my arm was still broken, so my elbow didn't fully lock up. So they gave me a brace, like a removable arm brace that I was supposed to wear. And then all I was doing at physical therapy was they would like stretch my arm and bend my arm.

SPEAKER_00 27:11

And we looked at it.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

It was like this and was that painful? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:14

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_02 27:14

And I was like this and this and this. And then he just kept every week it would get further, and he would like scrape the muscle and stuff to help break up the scar tissue. Like I have one spot right here that still has some scar tissue when I fill over my tricep, but he would just stretch it. And then I about the third or fourth week, he would start letting me do in like an exercise. Wow. Um, but it took the first job I did back was USANA. Like first dance gig I did back. Okay. Was USANA in the summer.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

We used to always we used to always do like their big convention in Salt Lake City, and we we would come in and do like three or four numbers during their convention. And uh it was kind of a cool gig, actually.

SPEAKER_02 27:54

Yeah, it was fun.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

You know, we did some fun things uh there. You did that, and then did I bring you back in the company right after that?

SPEAKER_02 28:00

I started right back up. So all the only things.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

You'd already had your son, yes. No, no, oh you didn't okay.

SPEAKER_02 28:06

So this is pre- this is pre-Hudson. This was I broke it in 2018.

SPEAKER_01 28:11

Wow, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 28:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

Well, I mean, most people don't know that. They certainly can't see it when they're when you're yeah, you can't see it from the stage, you know.

SPEAKER_02 28:20

And I don't have feeling actually in my tricep.

SPEAKER_00 28:23

Really?

SPEAKER_02 28:23

Yeah, this whole side of the scar is numb. So it feels like you know, when you get a cavity filled at the dentist. Yeah. So I know it's there, but it feels like that, like kind of swollen to the touch. Oh, and I can't feel it when it engages either.

SPEAKER_01 28:35

That's weird. It's like when your little leg goes to sleep or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 28:38

Just feel like that all the time? Just all the time. All the time.

SPEAKER_01 28:41

Do you wake up and go, huh?

SPEAKER_02 28:42

Yeah. I used to. I'm used to it now, but it used to really bother like the feeling like that feeling bothers you, like after you leave the dentist and you like want to touch it or like bite your lip. So it used to really bother me. Like I would just touch my arm all the time, but now now it doesn't bother me. I'm used to it.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

That's amazing. Well, I I am so thankful that you were able to overcome that. Me too. Because that that alone was kind of almost a career-ending moment.

SPEAKER_00 29:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:10

You know, that uh that you experienced. Now you do a heck of a lot of teaching. I do, don't you?

SPEAKER_02 29:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

What what's your favorite thing to teach?

SPEAKER_02 29:20

Now I'm really only teaching private lessons and I really enjoy that. I like teaching kids that are really dedicated to their craft and have motivation to move forward, whether that's college or whether that's professional career. I I really like helping kids find their path and find their artistry at that stage of their dancing. I also really like helping fix the little habits. I I feel like I'm very good at helping kids use proper technique.

SPEAKER_01 29:51

Oh, and you do have kids looking at the mirror very much?

SPEAKER_02 29:54

No, I do all my lessons in my mom's basement. Oh, yes. So there's no mirror because I have a bad habit. I don't anymore.

unknown 30:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 30:03

I had a bad habit where I would look in the mirror all the time because I wanted to make sure the eye looked perfect.

SPEAKER_01 30:09

Yes. She would always do an air best.

SPEAKER_02 30:11

She'd be like, I had to make sure that it was perfect.

SPEAKER_01 30:14

And we can't, I died so many times that Darby, quit looking at yourself. Quit looking at yourself. You look fine. Stop with it, you know. Instead of stretching your ass, she'd be it's just the eyes, though, the chin stays. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 30:30

She's just look and then I could just make sure, you know.

SPEAKER_01 30:33

So I just like making sure you're weeding that out of your stitches.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

Yeah, yeah. But I tell them that. Yes. I tell them the story every time. So I say, you don't want to be me. You don't, you don't want to be me. You don't want the Darby eyes. You don't want them. You don't need them. Like, trust me. Because no one ever told me that. Is there an age limit that you work with that you like to um I uh I have a couple young ones that I really, really like to work with. They're about nine.

SPEAKER_00 30:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 31:00

Um, I don't usually work with kids that young, but there's there's just this little group of humans that I work with, and they are so motivated and they're like sponges. I I do like some of the same ab stuff I do with Odyssey, I do with them. And they're like, Can we do more? And then like when I do the abs on the company, they're like, oh, this is so hard. But I like ice, like I'm a mom and I'm doing it. But my little nine-year-olds are like, I want to do a lot of these. I want to be so strong. And I'm like, yeah, z it's so fun. But I really like the high school age most, like the 16, 17, 18 year olds, where I can is really delve into like the nitty-gritty, you know.

SPEAKER_01 31:38

They're on the cusp of of getting there. See, typically people don't realize it takes about nine or 10 years to create a dancer.

SPEAKER_02 31:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:45

You know, with the proper technique, the ballet classes, the jazz tap hip-hop, all that stuff that that creates an Odyssey dancer. Yes. You know, uh, it takes a lot of years to develop that. So somewhere around 16, 17, if they started at age eight or whatever, or even three, you know, a lot of them start at three years old. But uh that's what really creates the dancer is that that continuous uh training that you get all those years. People don't realize it takes that long, you know, especially with what we do.

SPEAKER_02 32:16

It's so versatile and it's so athletic and demanding on your body that you have to be able to do everything with confidence.

SPEAKER_01 32:23

Yeah, and that's what's so fun. I mean, uh Gil, who was with us, yeah, who's our interpreter the last couple of days, he he he's he was actually a dancer.

SPEAKER_02 32:32

Really?

SPEAKER_01 32:32

I he was there to interpret, but he was actually a dancer.

SPEAKER_02 32:35

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 32:35

So he he understood, you know, all the technique and stuff like that. I like I like you. You you they have technique, yes, but then they perform. It's good. It's it's it's it's very good, it's very good. You know, super yeah, they love to think. It's super good. So to me, that's meant a lot. And I think people know know that Marcel, who's our Marcel, yeah, he was a dancer. You can get him to show him the picture of him when he was a dancer. He's doing it. He was good. He was he was good. Yeah, he did like he was doing double tours and all kinds of things. It was great. So he really, he really appreciated it. Anyway, I I think that's that's amazing what what these dancers can do at that age. And you can tell at eight or nine whether the person has the physical capability to do it. You know what I mean? Because it it's certainly demanding to do the turnout and the feet and the legs, yes, and all that stuff. But boy, by the time they're 10 or 12, you can see them really blossom.

SPEAKER_02 33:40

Yeah, and it's so fun. It's fun to watch them figure their out their bodies and then help them understand how to put artistry inside of all the technique that they've been working on.

SPEAKER_01 33:50

So you've taught you taught a a dance team at at a high school. I did. Is it a dance team or is it a drill team?

SPEAKER_02 33:57

A drill team. Oh, the yeah, Utah doesn't have dance teams, they have drill teams.

SPEAKER_01 34:02

They have drill team, okay.

SPEAKER_02 34:03

Because it's a sport in Utah.

SPEAKER_01 34:05

Okay. And so how long did you teach them?

SPEAKER_02 34:08

I coached for two years.

SPEAKER_01 34:10

Were you the main coach?

SPEAKER_02 34:11

Yes, I was a co-head coach. So Britney Nordoff and I coached together.

SPEAKER_01 34:16

Okay. And how how was that experience?

SPEAKER_02 34:19

It was a really interesting experience. Um, it was a frustrating experience.

SPEAKER_00 34:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:24

But it was a good experience. I think it's frustrating in the sense that it is a sport, but it's still subjective. And so they're kind of like ice skating. Yes, like there's a rubric and there's things that you need to hit, but at the end of the day, regardless of if you hit the rubric, you're still being subjectively judged because there's a judge that was just judging you on your choreography.

SPEAKER_00 34:45

Right.

SPEAKER_02 34:45

Or just judging you, like the execution is obviously execution, but choreography, or like there was a judge that was about your performance.

SPEAKER_00 34:53

Right.

SPEAKER_02 34:53

And so that's subjective. If someone doesn't like how you perform, they can score you lower, but they still want it to be a sport. And that was that was something that was really frustrating for me because the girls, it's 20 hours a week. It's as much as you know, anyone dances at a studio that you're putting into this effort of three dances that they're gonna do on the floor.

SPEAKER_01 35:11

Just three.

SPEAKER_02 35:12

Just three. They just only do three.

SPEAKER_01 35:14

Um, and you would go at what time in the morning?

SPEAKER_02 35:17

Practice started at 5 55 in the morning. Oh my god. And then I would go to do Odyssey, and then I would go home and be a mom and teach.

SPEAKER_01 35:23

And the dancers, the dancers always complain at eight o'clock in the morning.

SPEAKER_02 35:27

And I'll say Yeah, when I start my music at eight and they're like, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:31

They come in with these eye patches on their eyes. They go, Oh, my eyes are so puffy, I'm gonna put these patches on. Like, guys, I've already been over. I said, you know what? I said I said, you know what? You look just as you'd look act stupider with these things on.

SPEAKER_00 35:48

But they work.

SPEAKER_01 35:49

Then they really work well. But their puffy eyes would be better than this, you know, these these they they multicolored camo, you know, whatever they come up with. But it it was is it's it's crazy stuff because they don't like they think they think they think they're looking better, but I'm like at breakfast here in Germany, everybody's looking at them, go, what's wrong with these girls?

SPEAKER_02 36:10

It's true, because people dress up at breakfast in Germany, like they're ready for their day, and then we come down like Yanny's.

SPEAKER_01 36:16

And our dancers, our dancers come down in their PJs and and slippers, and the hair all mangled, and and Mose, Mose's hair is like it is that's you know, I told Mose the other day he came down, his hair was like this, and I said, Mose, you forgot to do one thing this morning. He goes, What's that? You forgot to look in the mirror.

SPEAKER_00 36:43

Sweet point.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

To see to see what you looked like before you came down here this morning. You know, even I will splash my eyes with cold water before I go down and present myself at breakfast. You know. That's amazing. But okay, so what's the difference between what was so frustrating about that about about the teaching that dance team?

SPEAKER_02 37:09

I think I just I was frustrated because I the subjectivity of it, honestly, was really frustrating. And just because of the way Utah drill is there are like teams that are set in stone of like, I am this team and I am good. And I was taking a team that was currently ranked 12th, and they had the talent to be a top five team, uh-huh, but the trek to get to top five within all of these teams that are known to be great was really hard because there's judges that are younger or people that don't want to mess the status quo. And that was that was really hard to overcome and like push our way in there as these underdogs.

SPEAKER_01 37:50

Right, right. Um where did you finally end up before you leave?

SPEAKER_02 37:54

Our first year we went from twelfth to seventh. Okay. And then the next year we took them from seventh to fourth, which was like super unheard of in the Utah drill world. And they're currently still fourth. They placed fourth again this year, which is awesome. And the climb will obviously, I mean, it's gonna get harder because they're closer to the top.

SPEAKER_01 38:10

So did you do all the choreography for that?

SPEAKER_02 38:12

No, we have outside people come in and do everything, and then we just kind of finagle and fix things at five in the morning. At five in the morning, yeah, we'll finagle at five.

SPEAKER_01 38:20

Okay. No, I used I used to call that the drill team the d word because we lost a lot of, you know, we'd have people in two or something like that. I'll see two that that were so good, and I was so excited about them. And then they said, you know, I'm quitting, I'm gonna go to my drill team. Yeah, you know, and they wouldn't warm them up and stuff like that. And more often than not, they got injured in that morning routine, and uh, you know, they lost their career there.

SPEAKER_02 38:46

Yeah. I think that's something that I really valued when I went in there was I set them a warm-up. And it's basically what I do for the company. I gave them the set warm-up, made sure they did it every day. Um, and anytime we could do any training, I would do it for them. And I still in the summers, I train them, the drill team. So they do two classes a week with me to keep up their technique because it is important. You have to have the technique to do the routines. Right, right. And so that was something I really wanted to instill in the girls before I left was how important a stretching was, but also B, how important keeping up with your training is so you can keep executing. Because a lot of them want to go to college. Like I I had one girl to it's she's a freshman now at BYU, but I trained her and she got recruited to the cougarets. Oh, that's awesome. And so she's one of the top things. Yeah. You know, Mia Judd, shout out to you. I love you. She is my my little baby. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 39:41

You know, I think I think that's really important. I think that's one of the things that that really that we emphasize in the company too, is that you we take class every day.

SPEAKER_02 39:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

Right? It's not it's it's yes, it is to warm up to get ready for a rehearsal, but at the same time, it's to help improve their technique, yes, their abilities, you know. So we're never we're never just sitting on our laurels going, oh, let's just come in and do some dances. Yeah. It's like this is a company that's really trying to promote their growth.

SPEAKER_02 40:09

Yes, and like elevate yourself every day. And I think that's one of the hardest things for me about not getting to take class with the company, right? Is not getting to be in the space to elevate myself with the group.

SPEAKER_00 40:19

Right.

SPEAKER_02 40:20

Because I come in at 9 30 and I have to do it by myself really quickly while people are asking me questions or wanting help, which I love being the person to help.

SPEAKER_00 40:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 40:28

But I also want to be continually growing as well. And so that's been really hard for me to balance.

SPEAKER_01 40:34

How hard is it to teach the company?

SPEAKER_02 40:36

Um, at first it was really hard, but you asked me to do that when I was 19. So what was I thinking? I don't know. I really don't know.

SPEAKER_01 40:45

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 40:46

Yeah. So I because Veronica was doing two a con that year. Oh, and so you had Kiana and I teach, and Bailey. Bailey came back and did one more season, Bailey Baker. Uh, us three taught company class, and I was 19. So I was teaching people that were older than me, which was hard.

SPEAKER_00 41:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 41:04

Um, but I feel like they were really respectful, especially because I was on tour cast, so we get a lot of the people that come in from out of state. And so I was their first exposure to Odyssey. It's scary. Um, but it was hard at first because of my age, and um, I was just scared to do it. So it was very nerve-wracking. But now I feel really comfortable doing it and really confident doing it, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do it. And I feel like I'm pretty good at it now.

SPEAKER_01 41:32

Yeah, yeah. I think and that's amazing that you kind of got through that hump. Yeah. You know, uh, I remember when I first started teaching, I was out in Los Angeles and uh, you know, I went to teach a jazz class and I put together a whole jazz ballet ballet bar, you know, like a little bar to say if we're gonna do jazz class, we gotta get some ballet technique in here, right? And so I got in front of this class that was in Los Angeles, and I said, Okay, well, my name is Joe Yeager. I'm currently in the course line and doing this and that, you know. And this lady in the back goes, Oh, we don't need to hear that, just teach the class. Oh my gosh. And I was like, Okay. Okay. And so it's very intimidating. It's very intimidating to make that step that lead from performer to teacher. Yes, you know, and so uh, you know, we've all kind of gone through that hump at some point in time, you know, and I think that that that's really, really amazing that you've done that and done it so well. Thank you. You know, we we really enjoy having you. What else about teaching the company do you find difficult? Because you give great notes. You give great notes. Thank you. Yeah, and they're very specific.

SPEAKER_02 42:42

Yeah. I feel like I take after Christina in that uh in that effect. That's true. That's true. I I feel like Christina Bluff. Yes, Christina Bluff. I've been inspired by her my whole journey. I feel like we're very similar people, we're very similar dancers, and so And she's had babies. She's had babies, yeah. I talked to her a lot before I came back, yeah, actually, and before I decided to come back again and do tour because I I hadn't tour, I toured with Hudson the first time when he was four months. Uh-huh. And so she toured with her first son when he was a little bit older, like how Hudson is. And so we talked about it just before I went and I wanted to make sure that I was gonna be okay. Yeah. I think the hardest thing about teaching the company is just the balance of the friendship versus the teaching and making sure at the end of the day that they understand that I am not teaching them, and I never want to be like derogatory in the way that I say anything, but I want to be direct.

SPEAKER_01 43:37

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 43:37

Um, and I just want to keep it.

SPEAKER_01 43:39

You suck. Yeah. You don't just you say you like keeping things professional.

SPEAKER_02 43:44

And I think keeping the relationship professional as well. Like I think now that I've gotten older, I've also tried to distance myself in a way that I am part of the group sometimes, but I also don't want to always be within the group. Um, and I think that's what's really helped me the most because then you don't get stirred up in in sometimes a little like drama things or things that are going on, but you're really focused on the company and the mission and the goal.

SPEAKER_01 44:13

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think you tread that line very, very well.

SPEAKER_02 44:17

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 44:17

It's been a it's very difficult. And I think you've been you've been so helpful in so many ways. I mean, when I ask you to do something, you get it done, and it's just amazing, you know. If it comes, it's if it's ordering food for everybody or putting together the smoothie order or whatever. I mean, she she's such an amazing gal that can really make things happen. And I I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 44:41

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 44:41

In you, that uh then you're just fun to be around.

SPEAKER_02 44:45

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 44:45

And not to mention the fact that you just want hell of a dancer.

SPEAKER_02 44:48

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 44:48

You know, and you're so good. I mean, that's another thing Sheel said, okay, the girl who sits good. She's so good. So good. Super. She has a technique, she has technique, but she's good. You know, and it was just, you know, and to me, that means a lot. Yeah. Because, you know, they come, they come from, you know, kind of the Soviet style of of dance, which is super technical. Yes. And to have them comment on your technique and your abilities, as well as your performance capability, I think that's really says a lot.

SPEAKER_02 45:24

Yeah. That's why I had the Darby eyes, you know. I had to make sure the technique was there.

SPEAKER_01 45:28

Checking out, checking the checking the mirror. You know, I think, I think that's awesome. Darby is certainly one of the the special people in our lives, as far as Odyssey is concerned. She's grown up with us and uh been a been a wonderful ride, a wonderful Odyssey. A wonderful Odyssey, you know. And um, I really appreciate you being a part of this podcast. And thank you. See ya. Wouldn't want to be ya.

unknown 45:53

Woo!